July 28, 2008
John McCain's Anger Problem (Brent Budowsky)
The man who used to be John McCain is reacting to the pressures of a campaign by becoming Meat Ax McCain with low-road attacks that raise core questions of presidential temperament.
Today, as Barack Obama hosts a meeting with financial leaders from across America, the anger-ridden, increasingly desperate McCain campaign accuses Obama of creating a future depression.
The performance of the man who used to be John McCain, and his campaign — run by foreign agents and Bush-Rove disciples — now raises grave questions about whether McCain has the temperament and stability in crisis to be president.
In recent days McCain has accused Obama of supporting genocide, wanting to lose the Iraq war, and now possibly creating a world depression. There is an anger to all this, an emotional and intellectual distemper, and an intolerance of alternate opinion that has deeply troubled his Senate Republican colleagues for many years.
There is an irrational anger to this, a stability meltdown under the pressures of a campaign, that leads McCain to attacks that I have called short-pants McCarthyism. Supports genocide? Wants to lose the Iraq war? Will cause a world depression?
These are the weird, strange and ridiculous charges of an angry candidate lashing out without regard for truth, dignity, common sense or the normal civilities even in our lower-standard national politics.
Equally dangerously, in recent days McCain has made factual gaffes and misstatements that are weird, strange and bizarre.
He confuses Sunnis with Shiites, and has done this a number of times. He places Iraq on the border of Pakistan and, on one occasion, placed Vladimir Putin as a German. He quotes a conversation between Sunnis and Americans that took places months before the surge, and credits the surge for the conversation. The list of these gaffes is long, and growing.
I won’t try to explain the reason for these weird and strange gaffes, misstatements and mistakes on matters a college student should know, on matters McCain claims as his strong suit. Whatever the cause, it must be ominous indeed.
One has to hand it to Obama. McCain taunted Obama to travel abroad, and Obama hit the ball out of the park while McCain was left to make cheap-shot insults that are laughable and unworthy of a president. Obama returns to a perfectly scheduled meeting with financial leaders, and the McCain campaign is reduced to saying Obama would start a depression, having said he favors genocide and wants America to lose a war.
The man who used to be John McCain is now Meat Ax McCain. It is time to ask whether any candidate who unravels in this manner, under the pressure of a campaign, should have his finger on the nuclear button. The answer, in my opinion, is definitely not.
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You'll see by the comments posted here by the crazed neocons that they want a cheap shot campaign of slogans. When the facts don't work to thier advantage, such as the case with the neocons, they must resort to cheap, playground-like themes.
Comment by Lester — July 28, 2008 @ 3:09 pm
Brent;
As they say, be careful what you ask for - you just might get it. All last week, McCain acted like a brat and this week is shaping up to be more of the same. I wonder how long before his "base" finally calls it like it is and reports the gaffes, lies and smears that McCain is throwing around. Also McCain shouldn't throw stones since his house is made of glass.
Comment by Mike Coleman — July 28, 2008 @ 3:38 pm
Yeah, it's OK to go overseas and bash your country. Just don't bash an empty suit running for President.
Comment by Robert Rosencrans — July 28, 2008 @ 5:46 pm
Hmmm, McCain is an anger problem, yet he's still relatively close to NObama in the polls, and is even winning some. I don't think the public agrees with you Brent. But go ahead and pump up the liberal wingnuts
Comment by John Simmons — July 28, 2008 @ 5:53 pm
I suspect this isn't a changed man, except to the degree that his ability to learn and remember may be impaired. What I think is going on is that McCain has reached the limits of his ability to function despite a practically lifelong emotional disturbance.
Comment by Barry Schwartz — July 28, 2008 @ 7:09 pm
Ironic that news broke today about Novakula having a brain tumor. Given McNuts' performance of late, more than a few observers have been musing over that diagnosis re him.
Obama is downright presidential; McNuts doesn't even rise to the level expected of a mayoral candidate for a township of >20,000 population.
Comment by Michael — July 28, 2008 @ 9:50 pm
The most dishonorable thing that McCain has done is to use his wounded veteran brothers for personal gain of winning office. That's something I thought he, of all people, would never do.
He has brought disgrace to himself and has demeaned his military service. He didn't have much going for him to begin with, but in the eyes of most Americans, including many of us who support Obama, he was a man of honor.
Now he has nothing to recommend him for the office.
Comment by smilinjack — July 29, 2008 @ 12:31 am
This is not about anger. This column is part of a carefully orchestrated plan by Obama campaign to portray McCain as aging, "confused", tired old man unfit to be a President. Unlike of course, that African lion Barack Hussein who can kill a zebra with his long bare hands and could easily gather a crowd of 200,000 screaming fans to apologize for everything bad our country has done during Bush Presidency. However, no matter how badly McCain's campaign is being run, more than 50% of likely voters don't want to see Basraka in the White House. He's foreign to all of us, unknown, naive, inexperienced, with mean wife, weird friends, pastors and associates. Basraka Hussein is not interested in growing our economy. Instead, that Marxist SOB wants "fairness" and redistribution of funds from those who produce to whose who can vote for Basraka Hussein and Charlie Rangel. Forget about what Basraka says, just read what Charles Rangel plans to do with your money, independent voters!
Comment by Metamusil — July 29, 2008 @ 1:32 am
[yawn]
Come on liberals…..I'm sure you can find something more substantive to discuss….
Comment by Wayne Kulick — July 29, 2008 @ 9:38 am
Meta;
Your rant and those off you who feel teh same way are going to be the past. For too long people of your ilk fed on the hate of like minded people and look where it got us. George W. Bush and his band of neocons. I hope that you're happy at what you did but now things are changing. No longer will we tolerate chuckleheads like you and yours. No longer will we let you dictate the terms of our country. Spew all the hate you want but come Nov. 4th, you can call him President Barack Hussein Obama. Take that and stick it.
Comment by Mike Coleman — July 29, 2008 @ 11:06 am
I'm a retired Aussie, currently in Boston on my annual pilgrimage to wonderful New England.
Our Bush equivalent in Australia, John Howard, saw his government tossed out last year. Howard lost his own seat, only the second time this has happened to an Australian Prime Minister in our history. He was, as we say, 'on the nose'. It is patently obvious that Bush and Cheney are also on the nose. Big time.
The British Labor Party, the party of Tony Blair, lost a by-election recently with a swing of 22% in a hitherto safe Labor seat. Roll on a general election.
The men who took us into the senseless, expensive, counterproductive war in Iraq are getting their comeuppance and not before time.
I am following closely the McCain/Obama contest.
I find it incomprehensible that McCain continues to spew the discredited neecon world view. And I continue to be revolted by the influence of Rove. Our John Howard adopted the Rove strategy of the continuous campaign, 'anything goes' attack ads and so on. The Australian electorate had a gutful of it and threw him out on his ear.
One can but hope that the American public does the same to McCain.
Americans should realise that US Imperialism Inc has done untold damage to their nation's reputation around the world and not just in Muslim countries.
Obama offers the opportunity to get things back on track. McCain, to this observer of politics over 50 years, is little more than a joke candidate. If he is the best that the GOP can put forward, it does not say much for the quality in the ranks of the GOP.
Comment by john b — July 29, 2008 @ 11:44 am
In 2000, the narrative against McCain was that he was crazy, unstable..this was from his own party. I still say that McCain will lose it between now and November..hope there is an unbiased camera around to catch it.
The fact is..he IS confused and perhaps showing early signs of going senile. How else do you explain the numerous gaffes and laspes in memory? The man is a 72 year old POW..who knows what effect that's had on his mental sharpness? just saying..
Comment by Theard — July 29, 2008 @ 11:46 am
"Obama is downright presidential"
I guess if being a community organizer, young and wearing nice suits is presidential….you'd be correct.
Other than that, Obamvoyage wouldn't be qualified to LEAD a boy scout troop.
Comment by Wayne Kulick — July 29, 2008 @ 11:48 am
Coleman, #10. Come Nov 4th Americans will NOT vote for someone with Hussein in his name. Despite all the efforts of your liberal thugs this is still a country with strong values not ready to capitulate.
Comment by Metamucil — July 29, 2008 @ 12:49 pm
Meta;
We Americans have had enough of you and the repubs. You lied us into an expensive war, let your cronies run departments and screw them up, take the country from budget surplus to the largest deficit ever, ran our good name into the ground and made the Justice Department, an injustice. Do you think that we would vote for someone that would continue this madness? You're out of your freaking mind.
Comment by Mike Coleman — July 29, 2008 @ 1:52 pm
Metamucil obviously would vote for President Bunny Pants again, a 3rd time. What a nut case.
Comment by Lester — July 29, 2008 @ 2:34 pm
[...] The Hill agrees. [...]
Pingback by Darth McCain « Mad Wombat — July 29, 2008 @ 5:14 pm
John McCain isn't a different man than he was 8,16,30 years ago. He has never understood America or the American dream.
He caved in under rough treatment and made propaganda films for the North Vietnamese. That's treason.
He stole a buncha money from the Keating Five and just barely missed prosecution (kept the money though and they kept the money he let them steal) and has tried to make himself look honest by advancing a number of "reform" proposals that obviously never had a chance of passage. He's an unpleasant, dishonest man. LOL, ask his first wife.
Only a fool would vote for him and you would have to be as low as he is to make a public statement in support of his candidacy.
Comment by Jim — July 29, 2008 @ 6:38 pm
Temperament, schmemperament! Voters want a fist in the air! Voters want a harsh military voice saying WE WILL WIN so they can chant USA USA USA.
We're so afraid of being afraid that we want the mean one.
Comment by JMarra — July 29, 2008 @ 7:27 pm
Aren't there any non-talking point, wacko cheer-leading type criticisms of Obama? Maybe the right should just come right out and say his "race" is the problem?
Comment by Pelu Maad — July 29, 2008 @ 8:03 pm
So, the current regime is going to risk their crimminal gains on a fair election?
mcCAIN has already been picked OR Obama has been briefed as to who's in charge (AIPAC). So, this will be a Show Election (akin to Stalin's show trials.
Comment by david wilson — July 29, 2008 @ 9:55 pm
Senator Obama looks and acts the way we need our president to behave. McCain is running around trying to get attention when he is not interesting to any reporters. Of course, they will praise him in their stories, but it is Senator Obama who they know has the knowledge and the stamina to be a wonderful president and make America proud again.
Comment by Vicki — July 29, 2008 @ 10:01 pm
Vicki,#22. I agree that Obama has the looks and stamina, so let him play basketball (instead of visiting wounded soldiers, for example). Let McCain protect our country from the terrorists. We don't need a show horse as President.
Comment by Misha — July 30, 2008 @ 1:04 am
I was amazed that enough people voted for Bush to let the Supremes give him the White House; amazed that anyone would vote for someone so stupid and ignorant of the world beyond his own “gut” feelings … did it twice. And now there are those that would follow the same kind of ignorant fool, just because he’s on your team. Many Republicans will sensibly vote for Obama because the Republican Party has abandoned them. This is good because this will hopefully force that party to change its ways; hopefully back to true Republican values, not what Reaganomics has given to the corporate puppets. McCain represents all that is wrong with the remnants of the neo-cons and hopefully, he will be their last dinosaur; his big feet trapped in their oily-mud and his little-bitty-brain incapable of any thought process beyond lip service for their corporate masters.
The Democrats had to clean up their act after Carter was swept out and Clinton represented that change (but blew his opportunities to save Democracy). Now the Republicans must do the same because even the religious-right is abandoning their agenda. The Democrat Party isn’t what it used to be; it is now more representative of the American majority … the middle class.
Everything McCain is now is what he will be as a president. His immature, bratty behavior is how he will behave and solve problems if given the chance (didn’t Bush do that, and weren’t there many of us who were ignored as we warned about it in 2000?). McCain sometimes claims that Obama is his friend, and look how pissy he campaigns against him. How would he behave when confronting the Iranians or North Koreans, or come to think of it, the Canadians? It’s not so much the problem that he has a temper, I don’t really mind that, it’s how he behaves when his temper takes over. He looses control and rational. He says all the wrong things and worst of all, like our current president, he becomes the bully he has been all his life. His lack of consideration for others, including women, is well known. His voting record proves he is against the working class, and don’t forget, he was one of the Keating-five. Remember that mess?
Do we dare let someone with the same personality flaws as George Bush take us any further down? I don’t believe the race is really that close, it’s just the media trying to game it for their own dollars. After all, if it where a runaway, all that media would have to talk about something else and would loose all those valuable campaign dollars. It really proves how capable the news media is at influencing peoples beliefs … scary!
Of course, there are many who will believe what the FOX will tell them, and there are those who claim their true Americanism and not so subtle ism’s with statements like, “Americans will NOT vote for someone with Hussein in his name.” This time, enough Americans will vote for the Democrat choice that even all their cheating machines, Republican operatives and all the Supremes in the world won’t be able to change it. Those talking heads will pretend disbelief that Obama cleaned the table. America is fed up, pissed-off and will vote with empty wallets. This time, angry voters will beat the cheat!
McCain claims he would rather loose the presidency than loose a war. That sounds nice to his followers but it’s as shallow as his and Bush’s brains combined. He cannot accept loosing the right to that office because he keeps running and probably will again in four more years. The real problem is, I don’t believe the Republicans really want the White House this time, as whoever gets it will have to start the clean-up of Bush’s many messes.
We Americans are well known for our short political memory, so the next president will become much disfavored within three years. Obama will have to perform near-miracles to keep the office in 2012. This is most likely the real reason the Repubs are running McCain. They really don’t like him and can blame him (not a true Republican) for loosing the office and then blame Obama for not fixing all of Bush’s screw-ups and hope to get back in the White House in four more years with a “true Republican” who will fix what the media will label as the Democrat’s lack of accomplishments.
Obama has a FDR moment at hand and we don’t really know if he will be able to lead us back to Democracy and a better economy. He needs to prove that. I would rather take that chance, knowing what McCain will do. McCain has a long political career to prove that. We know he is no better than Bush and can only make things worse. Worse yet, he will change any belief to say whatever he thinks it will take to be a president. I’m not willing to take that chance. Hooverville’s will look like Hilton Hotels compared to McCaincamps. Americans had a long history of helping each other when the depression hit us in the thirties and I don’t think our last forty years of “Greed is good” is a good foundation for helping each other when times will get bad.
Obama won’t be able to fix all of the messes we are in and we really need to lower our expectations of him; it can’t be done in eight years. Don’t forget, it took Nixon to grease the court system for Reagan to make things so bad that even someone so stupid and economically destructive as George Bush could erase so much of what our country and Democracy stood for. It will take at least 12 to 16 years to fix most of that and only FDR ever got that opportunity. It makes one wonder if the 22nd amendment was just another really bad Republican vindictive idea (which it was).
Comment by Everett English — July 30, 2008 @ 1:28 am
Go back to 2000. John McCain just completed a successful state primary and was being interviewed/congratulated by then reporter, Maria Shriver. Suddenly, McCain turns on a dime and lashes out at Maria with angry fangs showing, for apparently no reason at all. Up to that point, I kind of liked the old man and was hoping he would take out GWB, but I was very disturbed at his obvious lack of self control. I never trusted that freaking loon since.
Comment by Ricardo — July 30, 2008 @ 6:46 pm
If McCain supporters get their wish and he is the next president, I quess they are also prepared to go to war with Iran and stay in Afghan for 100 years. The draft might have to come back in order to do all this warring. Are you ready to enlist or do other families have to watch their loves one die for oil. If you aren't already serving than enlist right way for McCain. Be prepared for him to not know the difference between a Sunni and a Shite. Or do they think Liberman will be there to whisper in his ear when he makes a mistake. He admitted he knows nothing about the economy. He doesn't know a thing about the borders in Iraq, Pakistan and Afghan. I could go on and on about the blunders he has made. Its sad that some don't mind having a president that knows nothing about the Middle East. He is running on being a POW. YOu need to investigate what happen while he was a POW. Some seem to think its ok that he has voted against bills that would have helped his fellow comrades. He doesn't need the help, after all, he is married to a billionaire. Left his wife for her. How sad
Comment by Thelma — July 30, 2008 @ 9:11 pm
Thelma, post 26. We are not very hot on McCain, but would do everything in our power to prevent Barack, Ahmed, Hussein, Arafat, Obama or Osama taking over our Government.
Comment by Metamucil — July 31, 2008 @ 1:34 am
Enough with the paranoia Metamucil. And here I thought you big brave neocons were real men and it turns out you're just a bunch of paranoid wussies. The terrorists are coming! The terrorists are coming! Too funny. I have news for you — they've already done their job — the American economy is tanking, tens of thousands are losing their jobs, gas prices are out of sight, banks are being seized…the list goes on and on and on. Obviously the "terrorists" are much smarter than Bush and the neocons.
Comment by mooresart — July 31, 2008 @ 12:43 pm
What was the article again?
Comment by bonyfingers — August 2, 2008 @ 4:06 pm